The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima

A middle-school boy's father has been dead for 5 years. His mother meets a sailor and they have a brief fling before he sets sail. When the sailor returns, he stays. They plan on getting married. The sailor tries to befriend the boy. However, the boy is not the innocent they think he is. He has a peephole where he has spied on his mother's sexual activities. He also hangs out with a group of friends that have an intellectual spin on depravity. They brutally murder and dissect cats and plan on doing the same to the sailor. (They will soon turn 14 and Japanese law does not allow those under 14 to be punished.)

The book seems to tap into some of the same youthful angst as Catcher in the Rye. The book is short and uses fairly flowery language. (Is this from the original, or just the translation?) Some of the content can be downright disgusting. These seemingly "good" kids have been lead down a horrible path by their "chief".